Will Instagram become retail’s ticket to mobile shopping?
Source: Instagram – #style

Will Instagram become retail’s ticket to mobile shopping?

Cara Salpini

Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of an article from Retail Dive, an e-newsletter and website providing a 60-second bird’s eye view of the latest retail news and trends.

According to a survey of 2,000 Instagram users, the vast majority (85 percent) follow accounts that are style, fashion or lifestyle-focused, and 63 percent considering themselves to be a fashion-forward.

The study by Dana Rebecca Designs, the jewelry designer, found that 72 percent had made fashion, beauty or style-related purchases after seeing something on the photo-sharing social network. The most purchased categories were clothing, makeup, shoes and jewelry.

Although this study surveyed Instagram users exclusively — which no doubt impacted the results — half said Instagram was the social media platform that most influenced their shopping habits, followed by Facebook (23 percent), Pinterest (22 percent), Twitter (3 percent) and Snapchat (1 percent).

Snapchat held its ground much better in a July study by Yes Lifecycle Marketing, which found that 21 percent of Gen Zers were influenced by the platform while making purchase decisions, along with 11 percent of Millennials. Instagram, however, was also highly popular with Gen Z in that study (44 percent said they were influenced by it while making purchase decisions).

According to the Dana Rebecca Designs study, one in three had used Instagram inside a retail store to help with their purchase decisions. Only 18 percent had used the platform’s “Shop Now” feature, which allows users to shop products straight from their feed. The jewelry firm felt the low usage was because the feature, introduced last year, was “too new.” 

Introducing the study, Dana Rebecca Designs wrote, “Long ago, it was movie stars, socialites, and royalty that dictated what was fashionable and trendy. Soon enough, printed catalogs and magazines showcased the latest looks across the covers on a seasonal schedule. Then the Internet happened and sharing ideas and inspiration with anyone in any part of the world at any time via social media became the new normal.”

BrainTrust

"The key statistic in the study? One in three consumers turn to Instagram in-store when deciding what to buy. "

Julie Bernard

Chief Marketing Officer, Verve


"I would focus much less on the platform and much more on the influencers. "

Dave Bruno

Director, Retail Market Insights, Aptos


"If your evaluation is focussed around Instagram it risks being short sighted. Zoom out and think in broader terms. "

William Hogben

CEO, FutureProof Retail


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Is Instagram taking a dominant lead as the most influential social network driving fashion trends? How should brands use the platform in order to directly influence sales?

Poll

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Max Goldberg
6 years ago

Be careful about declaring one social media platform to be the dominant player in any area. Taste and preferences for social media can change overnight. Brands should become fluent in many social media platforms. Part of that fluency should be exploring how to use each social platform to interact with consumers. Some may offer opportunities for direct sales. Others may be best for information. One thing brands cannot do it sit on the sidelines.

Adrian Weidmann
Member
6 years ago

We live in a Hollywood society where acceptance and popularity are unfortunately driven by image, fashion and always money! Compounding this is the need for instant gratification where almost everyone has a camera in the palm of their hand with the ability to instantaneously publish images around the world. It’s no wonder that Instagram, Snapchat and other social media sites yet to emerge influence trends and purchases.

Dave Bruno
Active Member
6 years ago

Beware the appeal of “hot today, not tomorrow” social networks. I would focus much less on the platform and much more on the influencers. Understanding who is influencing your customers and which influencers most consistently drive conversions will unlock much more potential in the long run.

Sky Rota
6 years ago

Like most things it takes a bit of time for people to become comfortable. I believe that any retailers posting items on Instagram they want to sell that are “in-stock” should absolutely use this option. In a perfect Gen Z world, we would love to be able to click and buy anything straight from a picture. You caught our attention, now close the deal — and make it fast!

Kiri Masters
6 years ago

More retail spend is migrating to marketplaces like Amazon and, at the same time, those marketplaces are becoming more crowded. Brands need to consider leveraging Instagram and other social media platforms to drive awareness at the top of the funnel, since they can’t rely on marketplaces to do this for them.

As the study points out, Instagram is suitable (right now, in 2017) as a platform for building brand and product awareness in certain demographics, and in certain product categories. Brands can’t look to any one social media platform as a silver bullet.

Ryan Mathews
Trusted Member
6 years ago

Social media platforms are fickle and ephemeral beasts. Remember Myspace anyone?

Facebook has become the platform du jour for the socially networked parents and — shudder — grandparents of the average Instagram user. And who wouldn’t want to see what mom and dad think is a hot look in fashion? So Instagram may hold the lead today, but in the fast-paced world of social networks leads are more perishable than hair styles.

Brands can use Instagram very effectively. My daughter-in-law’s boutique fashion company uses pictures of fashionistas wearing her designs at the hippest of the hip events to great advantage. There may or may not be a direct pitch associated with the photos, but people still actively seek out the designer’s name.

The caveat is that branders need to know which social networks are “in” with their target consumers and move quickly away from those that fall out of favor. And they have to learn how to to be overtly commercial.

Social networks are about people, not brands. If the people are using a brand — fine and dandy. If the brand is seen as using people — not so much.

Ralph Jacobson
Member
6 years ago

I wonder where all prominent social media platforms will be in five years. Will Instagram still be relevant? I think retailers need to be agile enough to hop onto the “channel of the month” and switch to the next hot one when it pops up.

Ricardo Belmar
Active Member
6 years ago

Instagram may be the platform of choice for fashion today, but that doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow. Yes brands should be looking at Instagram closely to help identify influencers, but that doesn’t mean they should ignore other platforms. This is a function of who your target audience is — younger demographics are favoring Instagram while others may favor Facebook. Brands need to be where their customers are — period. Effective brand marketers need to stay aware of social media trends and leverage the platforms that speak best to their customers.

Sterling Hawkins
Member
6 years ago

Social should be driven by a core brand strategy dictating appropriate channels and experiences. Instagram is a key part of fashion today and having a presence, working with influencers and engaging with consumers there is important. However, it’s not about Instagram. It’s about how that channel is best leveraged to provide a really great experience for their shoppers, as we all know technology can change overnight.

Julie Bernard
6 years ago

We know that shoppers are bringing their mobile worlds into the physical retail space, and this new Dana Rebecca Designs study gives us yet more evidence that mobile experiences actually drive brick-and-mortar sales.

The key statistic in the study? One in three consumers turn to Instagram in-store when deciding what to buy. Additionally, all the participants cited social media as an influence when it comes to how they shop.

This data dovetails with research we recently released, a survey of Millennials and Gen Z shoppers that showed 1 in 4 turn to their mobile devices while in-store and virtually none of them made spontaneous decisions — the entire concept of the persuadable moment (the point in time when they are showing intent to purchase and receptivity to brand-delivered inspiration) is now reliant on a cycle of posts, likes, and tags.

The critical next step is to create creative, meaningful moments that further bring the online experience together with the in-store moment of purchase. At the same time, it’s important that we all stay agile. Today’s hip platform is tomorrow’s old news. Brands can’t just stick with just one; they need to engage and tap into what each particular platform does best, reserving money for small tests with emerging and niche ideas as well, some of which might be in development in some Gen Z developer’s garage as we type.

William Hogben
6 years ago

If your evaluation is focussed around Instagram it risks being short sighted. Zoom out and think in broader terms. Who is your audience? Where are they investing their attention? How can you participate? Succeeding with technology (and especially social media) is not about what you build, it’s about what human behaviors you’re building for.

Jett McCandless
6 years ago

Being the most visual of the social networks give Instagram a unique amount of reach with certain retail outlets. People see something cool, and realize they can purchase it. That said, it’s best to keep a well-rounded social presence. Facebook and Twitter are still very much in play here, so shifting all of your focus to one platform doesn’t make sense.